De La Rama Steamship Co., Inc. v. United States
344 U.S. 386 · Decided February 2, 1953 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
De La Rama Steamship Co., Inc. v. United States was decided on February 2, 1953 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 344 U.S. 386 · 73 S. Ct. 381 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 422 · 1953 U.S. LEXIS 2555
- Docket number
- 368
- Decided
- February 2, 1953
- Argued
- January 15, 1953
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Felix Frankfurter
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 1 U.S.C. § 109
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Full case caption
De La Rama Steamship Co., Inc. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1952-038, docket 1952-038-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- Calmar Steamship Corp. v. United States
- Dalehite v. United States
- United States v. Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co.
- United States v. Lindsay
- United States v. Shannon
- United States v. Kelly
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Sanford v. Kepner
- Lloyd A. Fry Roofing Co. v. Wood
- F. W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, Inc.
- Steele v. Bulova Watch Co., Inc.
- American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. United States
- Pennsylvania Railroad Co. v. O'Rourke
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error